islamabad - A three-day series of events including a roundtable discussion ‘Taking Pakistan to the Word,’ a cultural extravaganza of heritage, fashion and music called ‘Hunar Ke Rang’ and an Artisan’s Mela were organised here by the Indus Heritage Trust.
The first day roundtable discussion was inaugurated by Minister of State/ Chairperson Benazir Income Support Programme Marvi Memon who spoke about the importance of preserving the arts and crafts of the region and in particular looking for synergies and alliances among all stakeholders. She suggested using the talent of women artisans and marketing their products through e-commerce to reach a worldwide market, says a press release issued here yesterday.
The keynote speech was made by former Foreign Secretary Riaz Muhammad Khan who spoke about the soft image of Pakistan through arts and crafts. Shoba Shetty representing the World Bank made a presentation on global view of crafts interventions and their significance. Hada, Commercial Councillor of the Japanese Embassy, spoke about the importance that the Japanese government gives to the subject of human social development. Moyna Aicken Trustee of IHT introduced the organisation and the uniqueness of the project Rang and Vinayak Ghatate representing the World Bank spoke about how livelihoods, exports and microfinance impact the creative industries.
The highlight of the roundtable discussion was the signing of a Letter of Intent between the Indus Heritage Trust (IHT) represented by its Chairperson Siddiqa Malik and the world famous Smithsonian Institute represented by its Director Michael Mason.
The ‘Hunar Ke Rang’ evening event was a celebration of the Indus Valley civilization and it portrayed a journey of its people through the ages and generations of our artisans. With a combination of light, sound and visual representations and performances from Sindh, Southern Punjab and Sufism, supported by background recorded narration of Arieb Azhar, the audience travelled the lane of history to reach the present day Pakistan connecting with our artisans and their creations.
A fashion show showcasing different brands was highly appreciated, and the audience went to see these brands from the displayed stalls at the event.
The three day events culminated in a celebration of the artisans from Sindh and Southern Punjab who had travelled to Islamabad to display their skills and sell their products at the Artisan’s Mela organised by IHT. All these three events were well attended by stakeholders from the diplomatic corps, donors, policymakers and government representatives as well patrons of the art and culture.
Indus Heritage Trust is working to preserve and promote the arts and crafts of Pakistani artisans, by enhancing their skills and designs to make marketable products of excellent quality and find best markets for them and thereby promote and propagate the heritage of the Indus Valley.
